Til Death
by OdetteMarie
Summary: AU future fic. When Chuck and Blair are separated as the world is dissolving, but what happens when they are thrown together after years of being apart? They may come to discover that the person they left behind no longer exists.
1. Chapter 1

The city was a mess, it had been for four years now. Lights flickered, giving the dirty streets a pathetic glow, revealing the poor creatures that roamed the sidewalk. Tattered clothes piled on their backs as they dragged bags behind them, stopping occasionally to search trash piles for any valuables.

The government had never meant for Manhattan to fall into such shambles, but soon, the desperate times became too much so they offered one plane ride to one of the British isles that was being used as an U.S. safe haven. The tickets were expensive and people rushed to marry their son's and daughter's off to those that could afford it: the Upper East Sider's. Some of them took pity and complied to the wishes, but other's refused, and some married other Upper East Sider's to keep the Brooklyner's from begging.

Yet, Blair wanted to believe that Chuck had proposed because he loved her. After all, he asked her to marry him months before they were even told there would be a plane. It had still been a pretty big wedding despite the hysteria that had fallen. That day, they found that Dan and Serena had eloped a few weeks back, and that Nate had proposed to Jenny. That was also the day the tickets began to sell; six were bought, but only two were collected as the plane was boarded. It was barely in the air for ten minutes when it exploded. Three of the six companions watched from one point in the city, and the other stared alone as the parts of the plane fell burning into the ocean. If the city was bad before, it was nothing compared to the chaos afterwards.

Places were ransacked, and most of the Upper East Side was trashed in anger by those that were left behind. What had once been a regal city was now an infectious disease forcing it's tenants to succumb to poverty. Yet, it was here that Blair Waldorf called home.

In fact, at that moment, the brunette was far from her penthouse, and instead was sliding on her heels after searching for them in the dirty motel room. There was a thirty something business man from Chicago lying in the bed with the moldy sheets curled around his waist. He was watching her with interest as she pulled her coat over her provocative outfit, trying to figure out what exactly had driven this young girl to do something like this. Blair buttoned the coat up and turned towards him with a smile, "I expect to get what I worked for," she said walking over to the man as he reached to the bedside table and pulled a couple of crumpled bills from his wallet. She snatched them up and flipped through them with a small groan: eighty dollars; that was less than what she had hoped for, but she took what she they gave her. After all, every little bit helped.

"So, what does your husband think of your profession," he asked blatantly.

Blair furrowed her eyebrows curiously. How did this man know she had been married? Then she looked down at her left hand and swore under her breath; she had forgotten to take her wedding band off, no wonder work had been so hard to find. Pursing her lips for a moment she stuffed the money away in her bra and gave him a small, forced smile, "my husband's dead," Blair said quietly before turning and leaving the business man alone in the disgusting motel.

Her heels clicked sharply against the pavement as she hurriedly headed back towards the Upper East Side. Blair clutched her jacket closer, keeping her head down as she passed by groups of people huddled around a trash can, fighting for the warmth of the pathetic fire burning inside. She felt a sting of pity for them, but didn't stop to offer any help.

For a moment though, as she reached the Upper East Side, she paused. It was once her beautiful haven, but was now just a ruin of a once great society. Should she head straight back to the penthouse? No. She had to see it again.

What exactly was it? It was her wedding present. Chuck had actually gone out of his way to buy her a house, a pretty perfect house, a house she could have dreamed of. Surprisingly it had been one of the few places that hadn't been destroyed in the riots, and was still relatively the way they left it. The outside had just fallen into a disarray after not being attended to. The snow white bricks had begun to tint a pale yellow, and the dark blue door and shutters had faded to a pathetic cyan. Taking out the key to the door, she walked up the steps and into the house with a flicker of sadness in her eyes.

The house had been left the way it had been two years ago; the hydrangea's that had once stood fresh and beautifully arranged in the vase on the table now hung limp and dead. There was a layer of dust over the tables, and spoiled food in the refrigerator. There was china that had never been used, and stiff couches that hadn't been sat on. Shockingly, the lights still flipped on and the computer still hummed, never having been turned off. But she didn't touch anything.

Instead, Blair walked softly through the house, shaking as she passed rooms that had never been used. She paused by the bathroom and swore she could almost hear their joined laughter that night he had climbed fully clothed in the bubble bath with her. They had only been twenty, and life had seemed so perfect for them. It was almost as if she had gotten her happily ever after, but no one had told her that happily ever after didn't last. Because after the plane had blown up, it was downhill from there.

Blair had spent what money she had left on what she, Serena, and Dan would need to survive, the rest was her mother's money, and Eleanor had spent it drinking herself to death after her fashion line failed because people stopped caring about fashion. Everything now depended on what they could get from working. Life had truly been much easier back then. But Blair couldn't live in the past, there wasn't time for that. Yet, every now and then she visited it, and that's what she did as she stepped into the bedroom.

* * *

_With as much strength as she could muster, Blair flung her shoe across the room at him. Her eyes were livid as Chuck ducked it, making her pick up another and repeat the toss, this time knocking a pillow to the ground. Again he ducked. Chuck hated when they fought, but he had to admit, she looked really sexy pissed off in her short little nightgown. He raised his hands, surrendering, "I'm sorry Blair, all right? I'm sorry for whatever I did."_

_Wrong answer; it got yet another shoe thrown at him. The brunette didn't even know why she was so mad at him, but she was. Chuck was sick and tired of getting her heels thrown at him._

"_You know what, fine, be mad Blair! I'm not sticking around for it!"_

_With that, he stalked out of the room and too the front door. Blair stared after him: had he really just walked out? The slamming of the front door was her answer, shocking her into action. _

_Quickly, she tore from the room, ignoring the silent tears that had begun falling down her face. The sound of the front door opening slowly made Blair stop as Chuck walked back in and stared at her. Locking eyes, their chests both rising and falling with heavy breaths, and then she was in his arms, both of them having moved at the same time. Their lips crashed together, and Chuck had scooped her off her feet, her legs wrapping around his waist. When the kiss broke, both of the were apologizing over and over again, but whatever they had been fighting about didn't matter anymore. He kissed the tears off her cheeks, carrying her back towards the bedroom. As he stepped inside, Chuck tripped over one of the shoes that had been thrown earlier and fell back onto the bed. Blair giggled as she watched his cheeks flush slightly with embarrassment, "smooth," but she pressed her lips to his again before flipping him onto his back, straddling his waist._

_The brunette leaned down and trailed kisses from his lips to his neck and down his chest as she unbuttoned his shirt. It was peeled off his shoulders before he pushed her nightgown up, grinning when he saw the sly smile on her face as it was pulled over her head and discarded to the side. His pants followed before Chuck flipped Blair back onto her back. Trailing his hands down her body, he watched her eyelids flutter with delight. He brought his lips to her neck, dragging them slowly, and antagonizing, across her collarbone and then to the swells of her breasts. His fingers gripped the straps of the lacy black bra, that matched her panties, and slid them off her shoulders; his hand then sliding beneath her arched back to unhook it. It followed the rest of their clothes off the bed, his hands then returning to her body, caressing her soft mounds, his thumbs rubbing over her quickly hardening nipples before taking one gently into his mouth and sucking. Blair whimpered softly as her hand ran through his hair, feeling his erection press against her thigh._

"_Chuck," she purred, "don't tease."_

_Her fingertips were pushing against the waistband of his boxers as Chuck pulled away with a smirk. She smiled triumphantly as he obliged, pushing the cloth down, releasing his erection, watching him go for her panties, tugging them off her hips. Chuck licked his lips, "God Blair," he whispered, "you're so wet."_

_Blush rose to her cheeks quickly and she wriggled slightly under his hungry gaze. He leaned down to kiss her and she kept his close for a moment, "I love you Charles Bartholomew Bass," she whispered in his ear._

"_I love you too Blair Cornelia Bass," he breathed, smirking as a gasp fell from her lips as he slid inside of her._

* * *

Present day Blair bit her lip and blinked back tears as the memory faded. Looking around, her eyes remained moist as she saw the open closet with her classically colored outfits on one side, and his flamboyantly colored ones on the other. Hardly used make up and expensive jewelry, including the Erickson Beamon necklace, lay perfectly aligned on her vanity; Chuck's cologne was the only thing on it of his. But it was the bed that tore at her heart. The sheets were still a rumpled mess from the last night they had shared together in it, and she knew that the scent of him had long since faded away. Blair had lost the one thing that mattered most to her, and she couldn't let go, and she didn't want to. As the first tear fell, the brunette wiped it away and left the house as fast as she could.

Returning to the penthouse she was greeted by a worried Dan.  
"You came back later tonight…why," he asked as she pulled off her coat.

"Just a long night Dan."

He nodded slowly, biting back words, knowing perfectly well that she had gone to the house again. He tried to avoid looking at her in the skanky outfit that clung to her body. It wasn't something the Blair Waldorf he had originally met would ever wear. But she had adapted and changed to what she needed to keep herself and her friends alive. After all, none of them believed they would ever end up like this.

Dan watched her pull the flimsy bills from her top and hand them to her. Counting the amount he smiled grimly, "it helps," he said, trying to reassure her that they would be okay, but he knew perfectly well that they were getting worse and worse every day, "and by the way, I just finished a hot bath for you," he said nodding up towards the stairs.

"No, I'm fine, you should use that for Serena…how is she?"

Dan looked down, "um, her fever broke earlier, but she's still pretty sick. And go take the bath, I already gave her one today."

"And what about you Dan," Blair asked placing her hands on her hips, she paused and bit her lip, "you know what, why don't you just take it with me. And before you protest and become all chivalrous I don't care. You need it, and I need it. It's not like I haven't caught you and Serena in bed before and…I'm not exactly as ashamed of everyone seeing my body as I used to be or I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing now."

Before Dan could even answer there was a sound of a door opening and they stared at the door to the stairs as a figure stepped inside…holding another figure.

"Oh my God," Blair murmured.

"Georgina?"


	2. Chapter 2

Two years, eight months, and eleven days: that's how long it had been since he had last seen the love of his life. There wasn't enough scotch in the world that could make Chuck Bass forget the sight of the burning plane as it crashed into the ocean. For the first time in his life he had actually cried, well it was more like sobbed. His best friend had been on that flight with his new wife. His step sister with her husband. And finally the brunette, the only girl to ever capture his heart, Blair Waldorf. Well, actually, she was Blair Bass, but it was still strange for him to call her by his last name.

They had gotten married at twenty, and as much as he tried to convince himself that he had proposed because he wanted to keep her safe, it had been a fool hearted proposal completely and entirely for love. He didn't care that everyone believed that the world was ending, all that mattered to him that night that he gotten down on one knee was that the girl in front of him said yes. After all, they had gone off to Yale together, and while they may have had a period when they were broken up, they had fixed things and he had proposed on her twentieth birthday. The wedding was right after his own twentieth birthday, and that's when the news about the plane had come out. It would take them somewhere safe, although the price for one ticket was a bit steep. He didn't hesitate buying the tickets for them, although now, he wished he had.

The night the plane was to leave for the isle, he and Blair had gotten into another fight. They had been fighting a lot since their marriage three months ago, but it always ended with them having seriously great sex and being happy again. But that night had been different; Blair, for one, had stormed off in tears, going off to God knows where with Chuck simply telling her that the flight was at eight and not to be late. He himself had stalked off to a bar and started to drown himself in scotch. It was well after seven before he realized that he himself was going to be late for the plane so he took off as fast as he could. But the moment he stepped outside the bar, the plane, which had decided to take off early, flew over his head. With a sigh, he stood there and watched knowing that Blair was probably fuming, but then, the most surreal thing happened: the plane had exploded in front of him and he was completely numb.

What he didn't know was that his wife had gone to Dan and Serena's apartment to try to figure things out and they had ended up talking so long that they had been late. They had been in a cab on the way to the airport when it exploded, stopping the cab and getting out to stare along with the others on the streets. They were dead, or so he thought.

Merely three days after the accident, Chuck had managed to get his own private jet to whisk him away to the safe haven, which in recent weeks, hadn't proved as safe as everyone believed it to be. Parts of the isle had been segued in the war, and now the ports were overcrowded, and people had come begging on his doorstep. After all, one's image of the richest man hadn't changed. To keep his own safety from those around him, he offered a day's stay to a certain amount of people, but each day would receive a new batch; it was almost like a shelter, first come first serve.

At times, he'd venture out, speak to seldom people before locking himself away in the only part of his house that he kept to himself. It was there that he sat out and stared at the crashing waves against the shore. It was there that he cradled glass after glass of scotch. It was there that he played with the golden band that was the only reminder of the happiest day of his life. It was there that he was a shell of whom he had once been. It was there where he mourned Blair.

* * *

Dan had ended up pulling the child out of Georgina's arms and passing her over to Blair so he could move the older woman to the couch. She was weak, and it looked as if she hadn't eaten in days. Not to mention the bruises as cuts that seemed to cover every visible part of her body. He scurried into the kitchen for one of the few bottles of water and brought it to her. She greedily drank half the bottle in one gulp, her chest finally rising with steady breathes, "where's my daughter," was the first thing she croaked out.

Blair moved over and crouched beside her, the four year old reaching out for her mother.

"Hey sweetie," Georgina cooed softly, ignoring the company in the room, "see I'm all right. Mommy is going to be okay."

The little girl crawled onto the couch and touched her mother's face lightly, a small smile forming on her face.

"Dan," Blair said softly, "go get some of those frosted animal crackers that we have left. The child looks like she's starving."

He nodded and headed back to the kitchen and Blair turned to receive a small smile from Georgina.

"Thank you," she breathed, "I know that I didn't do anything in the past to deserve these things from you guys, but we had no where else to go."

Blair nodded silently as she settled on the arm of the couch, dabbing at Georgina's forehead, feeling the bright blue eyes of her daughter watching her. The silence continued even after Dan came into the room and offered the girl the crackers. Finally it was broken, "what happened," Blair asked softly.

Georgina looked down for a moment before swallowing, "that boot camp you sent me to, well, I met this really cool guy and we hooked up and things were actually looking good, but as soon as he found out I was pregnant… When things started to go to hell, they shut down the school and let us all go. Taking care of Rhyan hasn't been easy, not since all of this hit, she was only two and I didn't have any money and I was still pretty into the drugs and drinking. When I finally found a guy that could support us to an extent, he coaxed me out of my habits and she even started to call him Dad. But I fell back onto the drugs when her real father came into town for a visit. When the other guy found out he wasn't happy. He beat me and then kicked us out and then I went to her Dad, but when he saw I had my daughter in tow, he refused to let us in so I came here. I didn't know if you were still here or not, I had heard rumors, but I had figured that Chuck or Nate had taken you guys away or something."

Dan looked at Blair for a moment, watching her blink back the tears at just the simple mention of her deceased husband. There was suddenly a small rumble and his eyes shot towards the stairs.

"Go get Serena," Blair said softly, and he nodded quickly, going at once to get his wife.

She watched him only to feel an arm clamp onto her wrist as another, more violent rumble, shook the place.

"Blair," Georgina croaked, "promise me something."

"What?"

"Promise me, that if anything happens to me, you'll take care of my daughter."

"Georgina, nothing is going to happen to you. We're safe here," although the worry showed in her eyes as the rumbling happened again and this time it showed no signs of stopping.

"Promise me!"

"I promise," Blair said quickly as the grip on her wrist had become like a vice.

"Blair," Dan called as he came down the stairs, Serena in his arms, "we have to get out of here."

There was panic in her voice as he set the blonde in a chair and gently shook her. It took a few moments, but he managed to wake her and convince her to walk.

"Serena, help Georgina out and make sure her daughter's safe too," Dan said, receiving only a simple nod from her.

Blair had started up the stairs; "Blair where are you going," Dan had asked.

"I need to get a few things," she shot back at him, part of her old life showing.

As she stepped into her room, she took in the sight for a moment and then started towards her desk. Grabbing up a few of the valuables inside, and mementos, she started for the door, but when she heard a few echoing screams from outside she moved over to the window. It seemed that several places around their building had been raided or something, because there were bright fires in each of them.

"Blair get away from the window," Dan said sternly from the doorway.

He had been worried so he came up to make sure that the brunette didn't dally in her room. The brunette man walked over to her and had grabbed her hand to pull her towards the door, when the ground quaked violently beneath them, knocking them to the floor, the window bursting open and glass spewed everywhere. The two had been thrown apart, and Blair was cradling her cheek where a shard of glass had cut her.

"Blair," Dan called out as he crawled over to her.

She grabbed onto his arms, clinging onto him tightly when the ground finally gave one final shake and the floor began to crack apart. The little girl was balling downstairs as Dan pulled her up and managed to get to the door.

"Serena, get Rhyan and Georgina out of here," Blair called the moment she saw the blonde standing in the middle of the foyer.

"Georgina's dead," her best friend said bluntly, looking over to where the couch had once been, but there was instead just a gaping hole in the floor.

"Then get Rhyan out of here," she shot at her, when she was suddenly pushed towards the banister.

The light above her had come crashing down exactly in the exact spot they had been standing. Dan had tumbled down the stairs, landing in a slight mess as Serena hurried over to him, helping him up with the little girl in her arms. The two older ones looked up at the banister, seeing that it had broken when Blair had hit it. In an effort to completely keep from falling off, the brunette had gripped onto the edge only to have a piece of broken wood splinter through her hand. She was hanging on, tears streaming down her face as she saw the blood trickle down her arm. Dan, seeing her predicament, rushed up the stairs, after pushing Serena out and when he got to her, he grabbed onto her free hand, pulling her up and over before helping her pull her other hand away from the wood. With a shout of pain, Blair got it away, and inspected the hole that was now in the middle of her hand.

"We don't have time, we need to get out of here Blair," he said pulling her away and down the stairs. Parts of the ceiling were beginning to crash down around them as they hurried for the exit. "Dan look out," Blair called as one of the beams began to fall where he was standing.

Pushing at him, they crashed out of a window and down towards the pavement where Serena had just come out, holding the little girl.

* * *

**HOURS BEFORE…**

_The wind was warm as he blinked a few times, adjusting to the sudden brightness of the dream. There was a bright flower field of green, with colors of purple, white, and yellow splashed throughout it. A wife beater and a pair of khaki pants was all he was wearing as he moved towards the only thing in sight: a swing set. It looked oddly familiar, and after a few moments he realized it was the very same swing set he had first seen her. But she was there now. A simple white dress was clinging to her body, her brown curls were freely blowing around her face. She sent him a smile before settling onto one of the swings. As usual, Chuck headed over to the Blair in his dreams, knowing this was the one place he could be with her again. His hands grasped the chains of the swing as he bent down and pressed a kiss to her cheek._

"_I missed you," she whispered softly, her arm snaking back to pull his lips to hers._

_It was a long kiss, they always were. He relished them, in fact, this was probably what he lived for anymore, tasting her once more. But when they broke apart she looked forward and he started to push the swing for her. Chuck knew that he shouldn't be dwelling on this, but he couldn't let her go, he didn't know how to._

"_What are you doing here," he asked softly, breaking the silence._

_She tilted her head back so that her head was resting against his stomach, "waiting for you. I'm always waiting for you Chuck," she whispered._

_He could see that reflection of innocence in her eyes that she had before him, before that night in the limo._

"_Why haven't you moved on? I'll be with you soon," he said, his eyes looking down._

_He felt her lean up, her lips brushing against her ear, "because you killed me," she whispered harshly._

_But it sounded as if she was screaming in his ear. Chuck looked up at Blair and he saw the way her eyes burned into him with a passionate hatred._

Chuck, startled by the dream woke in a sweat. He nearly jumped when he heard the loud knocking on his door, the real source of what had woken him. Rubbing a hand over his eyes he ignored it as he tried to forget the look on Blair's face from the dream.

"Mr. Bass," came the voice of one of his workers, although he wasn't sure which one, "Mr. Bass, please wake up!"

Slowly Chuck crawled out of bed, wearing just a pair of drawstring pair of pajama pants, and grabbed the t-shirt so he could cover his bare chest as he walked over to the door. Opening it, he shot a small glare at the help. They knew he didn't like to be disturbed when he slept. But the person standing there was already terrified, "good, you must go. Your private jet is getting ready so get a few things and please hurry to the plane."

"Wait, wait just a minute," he said holding up a hand, "where am I going and why am I going?"

"They are on their way. The ones that conquered the other towns, they are coming here. It won't take much longer, they've already breeched the outside. Please, you need to get yourself out of here. Your far more important than anyone else, we'll be fine but please just go."

But Chuck had already moved back into the room the moment he figured out what the man was talking about, grabbing up a few things from the room. He pulled on a coat, figuring that he would change when he got on the plane before rushing out of the room and down to his study. A part of him was looking to get his scotch, but there were a few specific things he had come for. Lifting away the skyline portrait of New York, he twisted in the combination to the lock and pulled out the valuables in there. Then going over to the desk he opened the bottom drawer and moved away everything to get to what lay on the bottom. It was a stack of pictures that he hardly ever looked at, but they were probably his most prized possessions. He stared a moment at the top picture; the couple in the picture weren't looking at then camera, instead they were looking off. The man's arms were wrapped tightly around the slender brunette. The tiara in her hair had caught a bit of the light, creating a surreal movie star feeling to the picture, illuminating the laughter in the two sets of chocolate eyes. It was their wedding picture, the one that everyone knew the most because it had been the one that had graced the cover of magazines, tabloids, and newspapers. Chuck felt himself choke up for a moment but the loud shriek of a woman from outside caught his attention and he moved quickly out of the study, outside, and towards the air strip out back.

The plane was ready, the only thing it needed was him, and the moment he climbed on, he was forced into one of the seats by the co pilot before they looked at him.

"Where to Mr. Bass? We need to get you somewhere relatively safe."

The sound of a sudden explosion startled him.

"Mr. Bass?!"

He looked back, "um, New York, take me to New York."

With an almost confused look the man nodded and headed up to the front. In a few more moments, the plane had taken off from the runway, amidst the sound of another explosion, and Chuck happened to look out the window just in time to see the manor he had been sleeping peacefully in a mere twenty minutes before engulfed in flames. Swallowing he settled back against the seat trying not to think of everyone who had been in the house, and trying not to think about what awaited him in New York.

Chuck's plane landed at the same moment Blair and Dan went crashing through the window.


	3. Chapter 3

Blair flipped on the lights as she stepped into the house. She was limping slightly as she pushed the door open wider. Dan came in, looking like hell, helping Serena through the door who was holding a sleeping Rhyan to her chest.

"There's a room on the left up there S, tuck the little girl in please," she said as she closed the door and locked it, peering out the window to make sure that they hadn't been followed before moving towards the sitting room.

"Dan, there's a first aid kit in the closet at the end of the hallway could you go get it, and a bowl of water maybe."

He nodded and headed off as Blair winced slightly as she sat down. The two of them wouldn't have survived that fall if the entrance tent wasn't still up. They had landed on that, and had rolled harshly off of it and onto the pavement. The penthouse had finally fallen to one of the many raids that occurred daily around them.

Most of their cuts had stopped bleeding on the way to the house, but Dan had lost part of his shirt so he could wrap up Blair's hand, the one that had been impaled. That injury was now accompanied by the cut on her cheek, and one now above her eye, there were several slices along her arms and stomach from the fall, not to mention there was an embedded piece of glass in her calf.

Dan came back in just as Blair yanked out the piece of glass with a sharp gasp. Blood began to flow freely from it and he hurried over to clean it for her before wrapping it in gauze. He attended the rest of her cuts and then her hand, and she in return attended to his. Serena came out just as they were finishing up.

"How is she," the brunette asked quickly.

"Sleeping; she'll probably be out for a while. What about you guys?"

"Alive," Blair said, and then smirked holding up her damaged hand, "but not completely whole."

The blonde laughed and then sighed and nodded back towards the bedroom, "I noticed the master bedroom…it can be yours B. …Dan and I can take the guest bedroom."

Blair nodded a bit sadly before stalking off to the room.

"It doesn't feel right," Serena whispered once her best friend had disappeared, "being here."

"I know," Dan murmured back, "but where else were we going to go?"

* * *

Chuck himself was wondering the very same thing as he stood outside the very same house an hour later. He had convinced those that came with him on the plane to let him head out on his own to find somewhere to stay. The first place he went to was The Palace, but he didn't even venture inside the courtyard as he saw all of the bums hanging around outside. He went to the Archibald place only to find ashes. Chuck even went past his former school, but that had the same problem as the hotel did. He even dared to look at Blair's old penthouse to find it completely ruined, glass from the floor she stayed on still littering the ground. That left the one place Chuck didn't want to go. But still, there he stood outside of that house that he had once shared with Blair a short time before he left. He really didn't want to go in; he would have to face the truth of what could have been. But he didn't have a choice.

So, cautiously, Chuck headed up the walk and jiggled the handle, surprised to find the door locked. He had to find the old hide-a-key hidden beneath the fourth brick on the right. Putting the key into the lock he twisted the door open and stepped inside the darkened foyer. But the moment he closed the door, he was cracked across the back with a baseball bat. In his shock, he fell to his knees and his assailant continued to hit him. Raising his hands half protecting himself, half surrendering, "stop! Stop! I'm not going to hurt you damn it!"

But he was barely heard as a slugger was taken to his cheek, and upon tasting blood in his moth he reached up and stopped the bat from hitting him again, and instead, pushed it roughly back, hitting his attacker with the back end in the stomach causing the man to grunt.

Suddenly, the room was flooded in light, "what the hell is going on Dan," asked a blonde standing in the entry way to the hallway.

The two men stopped, and Chuck spit out a mouthful of blood before standing and turning towards the woman.

"Oh my God," muttered the girl, and Chuck found her a blur as she rushed over grabbing him in a tight hug.

"What the-," he started, having the words muffled into her golden hair.

"We thought you were dead Chuck," she whispered.

That voice was so familiar, could it really be Serena? He pulled away and sure enough he was staring at his sister. Looking over he saw Dan standing there with a baseball bat, surprisingly silent. Slowly, Serena pulled away from Chuck and stared at him as if he were a ghost.

"Sorry for the welcoming party," Dan murmured, breaking the silence, chuckling softly at his own words.

Shaking his head, Chuck waved a hand, "don't worry about it. …Just don't hit me again."

Again there was a silence before, "so you two weren't on the flight?"

They shook their heads, "no, we were just going over there when it exploded. What about you? Where'd you go if you didn't get on the flight?"

"I got my own plane and went to that safe haven, which…isn't so safe anymore."

They were suddenly interrupted by a loud balling.

"That's Rhyan," Serena explained, "I'll go check on her. Dan could you go check on the other baby?"

"You guys have kids," Chuck asked.

"No, Rhyan's Georgina's, but Georgie died so we're looking after her, and the other one is just acting like a baby."

In truth, Serena was avoiding saying that it was Blair. If Chuck thought they had died and had left without Blair to that island, then he obviously believed she was dead too. Dan understood this. Hell he had been wondering what it would be for those two to see each other again, but he really didn't want to be around for the fireworks that would no doubt happen. The blonde stalked back down the hallway, leaving the two men in silence. The former writer set the wooden bat down, heading down towards the master bedroom. Chuck stayed in the front room going over to one of the plush chairs. He sank into it, closing his eyes, not knowing that Dan had scooped Blair into his arms and had laid her out on the couch. She was asleep, still in the clothes from earlier. Dan redressed her wounds looking over his shoulder at Chuck, whom had seemingly fallen asleep. He shook his head with a silent laugh before he turned off the light and went back to Serena.

Hours passed, and neither any signs of soon waking. They stirred, of course; Blair adjusted to keep her bandages from itching, and Chuck moved every now and then for comfort, but neither woke. That was until Blair rolled off the couch. She was startled awake, but Chuck only moved with a soft murmur.

The brunette had been rubbing her side when the noise drew her attention. Looking over, she had to squint her eyes, as they weren't quite used to the darkness just yet, to make out the form in the chair. All right, there was no possible way she was awake, even if she felt awake, because that was Chuck. Slowly righting herself, Blair made her way to his sleeping form. Her eyes stared at him, almost in wonder. He looked older, worse for the wear actually, but he was still put together despite the large bruise on his cheek bone. Watching his chest rise and fall with deep, slow breathes, Blair reached out, her fingertips brushing lightly against his jaw line. His skin was so warm it caused her eyes to flutter shut. Her fingers moved up a bit more to settle on his cheek as she slowly leaned in towards him. His scent was strong, the same as it had been the last time she had been this close to him; it sent a rush of joy through her.

"Serena, I'm really here, I'm really alive. You do not need to fondle me," he murmured, his eyes remaining shut.

The sudden break in silence startled Blair and she let out a small yelp, stumbling backwards and falling down against the couch. His words…alive? Really? She stared wide eyed at him, almost terrified at his sudden presence. Chuck himself had groaned. The yelp had completely woken him up, but he hadn't opened his eyes to look at her. Instead, he stretched and situated himself correctly in the seat. Slowly he blinked and looked over, a smirk beginning to form, thinking he was going to see a blonde, but his sight was greeted by a very much alive Blair. He realized it immediately because this was never the Blair he saw in his dreams. Her curls were flat against her head, angry cuts and bruises decorated the once flawless skin, there were bandages all over, and the outfit was as un-Blair-like as possible.

"What are you wearing," he asked at the same moment she said, "you're alive?"

Blair looked down at her clothes as Chuck nodded.

"I'm alive. I'm real Blair."

At the sound of her name, his voice saying her name, her head snapped up. Her eyes watched him as he got up and moved towards her; she was shaking slightly as. Chuck crouched down beside her and touched her hand lightly, masking the pain when she flinched. Two fingers rested beneath her chin and forced her to look at him, his brown eyes searching for something in her own. But all he could see was confusion and pain, and that gripped at his heart, knowing that he was source of both of those.


	4. Chapter 4

"_You insulted my mother Chuck," Blair said angrily as she pushed the front door open, not caring that it had bounced back from the wall and nearly hit him in the face._

"_I didn't insult her Blair, I just made a poke at her lack of parenting skills," he protested as he stepped in behind her and closed the door._

_Blair shot him a glare of astonishment, "do you honestly not think that is an insult Bass?"  
Chuck huffed and shook his head, his hand resting on the table that held the newest batch of fresh hydrangeas, "you Waldorf women…you get so testy over the littlest things."_

"_Testy? Testy?! All my mother did was ask if we have even thought about children and you told her that you didn't think I had a good enough role model to be a good mother quite yet!"_

"_And is it really that far off from the truth?!"_

_A fuming Blair poked a finger against his chest, "I'll have you know that I would be a damn good mother. The only reason you said that was because you aren't ready to be a father Chuck, and you know it. You're terrified that you're going to end up just like your father."_

_His eyes narrowed, and he pushed her hand away from him, "you want kids Blair? Fine, lets have kids right now. You and me," he said pulling off his jacket, his gaze filled with more anger than lust._

"_I didn't say that," the brunette murmured, "we can't have kids Chuck. Not now," she looked down, "we aren't ready."_

"_That's not what you were saying a few minutes ago. You want kids, I know you do Blair, I know…I remember you talking about having two of them with Nate. You were going to have a Nathanial Jr., but you're biggest dilemma was figuring out if you were going to name your daughter Holly or Audrey. So you know what, let's have those two kids right now! Let me give you that perfect life you always dreamed of having Blair! Let's have Chuck Jr. and that doe eyed daughter!"_

"_Stop it Chuck," she whispered, looking away from him._

"_No," he said firmly, grabbing onto her wrist as he realized that Blair was trying to walk away from him, "this is what you wanted Blair isn't it? The perfect life? The one you've been planning since kindergarten…the one I was never a part of."_

"_Please Chuck," she said, her voice breaking as his grasp tightened on her wrist, "you're hurting me."_

"_Is that why you don't think we're ready Blair," he asked, ignoring her plea, "is it because I'm not perfect enough for you yet?"_

"_Stop it Chuck," Blair said a bit more firmly, "you're acting crazy. This isn't you."_

_He laughed, almost evilly, "that's where you're wrong Blair. This is me. You may have thought you married your Prince Charming, but if you for one second think I'm going to whisk you off into the sunset on a white horse than maybe you should just walk out that door right now."_

"_If you had let go of me I would have already," she spat at him._

_And that's when she felt the crack against her cheek. His free hand had come from no where and the back of it had connected harshly against her face. Tears immediately stung the brunette's eyes as she turned her head to look back at him._

"_You hit me," she said, stating the obvious._

_The look of anger, and the sneer on his face had dropped the moment the words fell out of her lips. The last time he had seen that look in someone's eyes, he had been four and he had stayed up past his bedtime only to see his father do the same thing to Chuck's stepmother at that time._

"_Blair," he said, his mouth barely forming words, "I didn't mean to. I just…I didn't mean to…"_

"_Well you did, now let me go," she said pulling her hand away from his with little effort._

"_Please Blair it was an accident…I was just angry," he said, fumbling for words._

"_An accident," she scoffed, "an accident? Running your car into a tree is an accident! Hitting someone across the face is a plan. You don't accidentally hit your wife across the face Bass…obviously it was something you picked up on from your lack of a good parent figure too."_

_Watching her head towards the door, that bout of anger bubbled up in him again, "the plane leaves at eight! Don't be late!"_

_His answer was the slamming of the door._

* * *

Blair continued to stare at him, memories of the last time they had been together flooding her mind. He was staring at her, waiting for something, anything to show him that his Blair was still there.

"Blair," he said softly, stroking her cheek, "say something."

She flinched away even more noticeably, almost as if she could still feel the sting of his slap from that fight.

"You hit me," she whispered, staring angrily at him.

Chuck swallowed. So that was what was going through her mind? The very last time they had been together. Every day since the accident he had been kicking himself in the ass. Hating himself for not apologizing or telling her that he loved her. But she was here, now, in front of him. He had that chance, the one he had been waiting for since that fateful day, the chance to make everything right. But she was obviously still dwelling on their last moment.

Slowly he shook his head, "shh Blair, that was two years ago. Forget it."

"Forget it," she asked, her eyes narrowing, "you want me to forget that you laid your hands on me and then disappeared for two years? I thought you were dead Chuck!"

* * *

_She stepped out of the apartment and started for the elevator. Her make up had been reapplied before they had started out, but her eyes were still bloodshot from crying. Serena was behind the brunette, rubbing her back softly._

"_It's going to be okay B. From what it sounds like Chuck was just upset. I know what he did was wrong, but it's a long flight. You two will have everything worked out by the time we land. As long as I don't have to hear you two moaning in the bathroom before we land."_

_The joke got a small smile out of Blair as Dan stepped into the elevator with them after shutting the door to the apartment. There was a silence as the box moved down. Blair could see her best friend's husband curling into a fist. Obviously he had a real problem with Chuck hitting her. She gave him a small smile, surprised that he was protective of her, "I'm going to be fine Danny, don't worry about me."_

_His eyes narrowed at the new nickname; he would have preferred Cabbage Patch._

"_I'll stop worrying about you as soon as that bruise on your cheek disappears."_

_She sighed as they stepped out into the lobby, the three of them getting a somber nod from the doorman as they headed out to the sidewalk._

"_Is it really that noticeable?"_

_Before anyone could answer, there was a loud roar of what sounded like a plane engine and they all looked up and dropped their jaws at the plane that was taking off. It was no question as to whether that was their plane or not, it was the only one supposed to be taking off that night. She saw Dan look down at his watch, staring confused. Obviously it had left early. Serena had opened her mouth to ask the time when there was the sudden sound quite similar to thunder. And from that moment, it seemed as if the world had begun to move in slow motion. All three pairs of eyes were glued to the sky at the angry red and black clouds._

"_Oh my God," Serena said, the first to speak. _

_Her eyes were glassy as she stared up at that immediately moving towards Dan. She knew that all he was thinking about was that Jenny was on that flight. Neither of them was really paying any attention to the shell shocked Blair. She was standing there, simply staring at the burning remains of the plane. _

_All of the sudden she broke out into a run. Dan having seen this went after her grabbing her around the waist and holding tightly onto her. She kicked and flailed in his arms, sobbing as she cried out._

"_Let go of me Humphrey! I have to go! I need to get to Chuck!"_

"_Blair you can't do anything. He's gone."_

_But she wasn't having any of that, because that simply made her cry out and struggle even more. Bending her head, she bit one of Dan's hands and he yelped in pain and pulled away giving Blair a chance to start running again. It was Serena this time that caught up with her, grabbing onto her wrists._

"_Blair stop. Calm down. Dan is right. You can't do anything. It's done. You'll do no good running after him like this."_

"_Let go of me Serena," Blair said angrily pushing her best friend to the ground._

_The blonde stared up at her as she stood and brushed herself off, "what do you think you're going to do by going there Blair? He's dead."_

_Blair let her hand swing out with as much force as she could muster. The crack echoed and Dan was over in seconds pulling Blair away._

"_He's not dead! I have to go to him! I have to be with him!"_

"_Blair stop it, this is not helping. Serena is right. Chuck is dead!"_

_Blair shook her head as she fought weekly against Dan, "he's not dead! Chuck isn't dead! He can't die. You can't fucking kill the Devil! He's not dead Dan…he's not dead."_

_By the end, her words sounded more like a plea than anything and slowly she sank to the ground, still in Dan's arms as she sobbed into his chest._

* * *

It was her turn to be angry, she pushed him away and stood.

"Dead Chuck! Do you understand that! I saw that plane explode and I thought you were on it! I cried for months! I haven't been able to get over you! And you just want me to forget it?!"

"You think you were the only one feeling that way?! I thought you were dead too! I've spent every night since then telling myself that I killed you! That if I hadn't done what I did that night then you would have been with me and you would have been alive! I thought I killed you!"

She looked at him, dead in the eye, "and I have spent every night since then wishing you had killed me Chuck," she whispered.

Before he could ask what she meant by that, Blair had brushed past him and headed back to the master bedroom, slamming the door behind her and leaving him standing there staring after her. Dan had woken from the commotion and had stepped out of the room just as Blair slammed the door shut. He looked over to see Chuck just standing there. With a sigh he walked out and waved a hand in front of his face. It took the other man a second to react but when he did his eyes narrowed, "why didn't you tell me she was here too?"

"Because I've been with her the past two years…she never completely accepted the fact that we thought you were dead. She's not the same Blair you knew Chuck."

With a short laugh Chuck sank down into the couch, "that's funny, because that raging bitch sounds pretty much like the same Blair I married."

Taking the spot next to him Dan looked down, "the Blair you married would never have done the things that the girl in that room has."

"What do you mean," he asked curiously looking over at him.

"You know how fiercely loyal she is Chuck. Blair might be a bitch if you rub her the wrong way, but she takes care of her friends."

"Stop making this a puzzle Humphrey and fucking tell me what the hell has happened to her in the past two years?!"

Taking a deep breath, Dan shook his head, trying to find a place to start, "after the plane exploded, Blair…she wasn't herself…not for days. She wouldn't come back here, so me and Serena took her to Eleanor's. Eleanor was in no shape to take care of her daughter, she was already half way to the grave by that time-."

"Wait, what?"

"She died, after her clothing line failed…drank herself to death," Dan explained before going back to the story, "Blair would lock herself in her room for days, not letting anyone in…not eating. And when she did eat, we'd hear her in the bathroom twenty minutes later. Whenever we tried to talk to her, all she would do was mumble your name and then bust into tears. You know how bad the city was before, so it wasn't like we could just go and take her to a doctor or a therapist for help. But when she fell into this sickness that lasted a couple of weeks, Serena had a talk with her, and Blair came out of it almost as if nothing had happened. She started trying to look for work, ignoring us any time we brought up the plane or you. One night, she came home with nearly two grand and when we asked where she got it, she told us that it was best if we didn't know. So, after a few weeks of this, I followed her," he paused and swallowed, "she was going to The Palace. At that time, it was housing a bunch of druggie gang bangers, but she ignored their ploys and grabs until she got to your old suite. The door was open, the guy inside was waiting for her. And when I finally chanced a peak inside…I saw what he was doing to her. I think it was a way for Carter to get back you," he said quietly, noticing Chuck's fist curl into a ball, "I mean, fucking your wife in your old bed…he'd pay her for it, but after he left town, Blair went and looked for different clients. We were tight on money, had to find a way to eat and keep electricity and running water. She pretended like what she was doing, selling her body, it didn't matter, but there were times when I would hear her in her room, sobbing…at one point she was even begging for your forgiveness. In these past two years, I've seen Blair broken and at her worst…the things she was put through…Serena and I haven't gone through anything half as bad as some of that stuff. It was a wonder she didn't go insane. But the one thing, she held onto from before, the one thing she could never let go of, was you…no matter how hard she tried to act like she had. The only time I ever saw Blair take off that wedding ring was to try and get some work. She visited this house every night, I know she did… That night, when the plane blew up, I lost a friend, and I lost my sister, but I still had Serena. Blair didn't have anyone for days after that. You were gone, Nate and Jenny…Serena was upset because of the way she acted towards her after the accident, and well me…she never had me. Until I started seeing that different side of her…and well, last night was just hell for all of us."

Chuck had been surprisingly silent as he spoke, looking at his hands most of the time, twirling his own wedding band around his finger, "does last night have anything to do with all of those cuts and bruises she has on her?"

The other man nodded, "yeah, a whole bunch of vagrants trashed the penthouse while we were in it. Georgina died, Rhyan and Serena managed to get out unscathed, but Blair and I…once again she got the worse end. The light at the top of the stairway nearly crushed us, so I pushed her out of the way. I ended up tumbling down the stairs, and Blair broke through the banister, and to keep herself from crashing to the ground she grabbed onto the floor, but there was a jagged piece of wood from the banister…it went straight through her hand. And towards the end, a beam from the ceiling was going to fall on me, but she tackled me out of the front window…she saved my life…"

His voice trailed off as he looked over at Chuck with a small sigh, "look, I'm still tired, and you've had a rough night yourself. Why don't you go take the bed that Rhyan was using? Sleep as long as you want."

He merely nodded and stood, going down to the empty room as Dan went into his. The master bedroom door creaked open and Blair poked her head out. Her eyes stared longingly at the door her husband had disappeared into. In those moments that he had talked to Dan, listened to what had been going on in the two years, she had decided; call it post traumatic stress, or just the shock at seeing the man she believed to be dead, alive, but everything that had happened, everything bad…she was planning on forgetting it. Her husband was back. Her Chuck was alive. Blair had the chance to be the perfect wife for him, and all be damned she was going to do it.


End file.
